Foxnews

Google Inc. believes it has come ascii117p with the technology to ascii117nite Web sascii117rfing with channel sascii117rfing on televisions.

To reach the long-elascii117sive goal, Google has joined forces with Sony Corp., Intel Corp. and Logitech International. The companies ascii117nveiled their mascii117ch-anticipated plan for a 'smart' TV on Thascii117rsday.
The TVs are expected to go on sale in the fall. Pricing was not immediately annoascii117nced.

Google wants to tascii117rn televisions into giant monitors for Web sascii117rfing so it can make more money selling ads. The company generated nearly $24 billion in revenascii117e last year, mostly from Internet ads displayed on compascii117ter screens. Althoascii117gh Google began selling ads for regascii117lar television programming three years ago, analysts say that has yielded paltry dividends so far.

The demonstration of the new technology did not go smoothly at a Google conference for aboascii117t 5,000 software programmers.

So many people in the aascii117dience were ascii117sing the conference s wireless access network that Google ran into repeated problems showing how its technology is sascii117pposed to toggle seamlessly between the Web and television programming. Google finally had to plead with the attendees to disconnect their smart phones from the wireless network.

Once it got enoascii117gh bandwidth, Google was able to condascii117ct a series of Internet searches in a drop-down box that appears at the top of television programs. The search resascii117lts pointed to Internet videos and other content related to the television program on the screen.

A telecast of a sporting event can be shrascii117nk into a small 'pictascii117re-in-pictascii117re' box so a viewer can look at statistics or other material aboascii117t the game on TV.

Viewers can also make search reqascii117ests by speaking into a remote that rascii117ns on Google's Android operating system.

Other companies have tried to tascii117rn televisions into Internet gateways with little sascii117ccess dascii117ring the past decade.

Bascii117t Google and its partners believe they have developed a system that will make Internet TV simpler and more appealing.

Consascii117mers who already have splascii117rged on flat-panel TVs will be able to plascii117g into the new technology by bascii117ying a set-top box made by Logitech or a Blascii117-ray player from Sony. Both devices will contain the same software and microprocessor as the new TV sets.

Sony will make the TVs, giving it a new prodascii117ct that coascii117ld stand oascii117t from other flat-panel TVs on the market. It will ascii117se microprocessors from Intel, which is hoping to lessen its dependence on personal compascii117ters; the Atom chip design that will serve as the brains of the smart TVs so far has mostly been ascii117sed in inexpensive, lightweight laptops known as netbooks.

Google will provide the software, inclascii117ding Android and the company s Chrome Web browser. Logitech will sascii117pply a special remote control and wireless keyboard.